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Welcome to the seventh Virgin Galactic Newsletter. It's been a busy start to 2007 and the momentum is set to continue as we move closer to the Test Flight Programme.

ACCREDITED SPACE AGENTS AROUND THE GLOBE

Virgin Galactic Accredited Space Agents in New Zealand

The past few months have seen the roll-out of a world first, exclusive Virgin Galactic programme designed to make it easier for budding astronauts around the world to make reservations on SpaceShipTwo.

Virgin Galactic Accredited Space Agents represent the best of the travel industry. They have been handpicked by us and given extensive training in all things space before receiving formal accreditation and a licence to make dreams come true!

We were particularly pleased to give exclusive US coverage to the renowned Virtuoso travel network but will be continuing to make appointments in various parts of the world. So far we have Accredited Space Agents in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. You can access a list of all of our Accredited Space Agents from the Book Now page on our website.

SPACESHIP UPDATE

Scaled Composites is progressing well in producing what will be an exceptional spaceship and launch system. Test flying of the system will commence in 2008 and we expect to start commercial operations towards the end of 2009. Our team is now in the process of defining the cabin interior requirements, with the goal of maximizing the spaceflight experience for our customers.

On a recent visit to Mojave, our operations team was very excited to see the progress at the Scaled Facility. David Mackay, our chief test pilot, summarized the visit by saying "Scaled are doing a fantastic job, the design of this system is unique and I definitely can't wait to fly it".

SPACEPORT AMERICA UPDATE

New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans, left, and Virgin Galactic's Project Director Jonathan Firth

On March 26th, in Las Cruces, Virgin Galactic signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) setting out the terms under which Virgin Galactic will locate its primary launch and operational activities at Spaceport America and its global headquarters in New Mexico.

"This agreement is a historic milestone for Virgin Galactic and Spaceport America... It represents months of negotiation and the outline of a substantive partnership to launch the commercial space industry," announced Rick Homans, chairman of the NMSA and Cabinet Secretary of the NM Economic Development Department.

"Virgin Galactic is looking forward to bringing our base of operations to Spaceport America and our world headquarters to New Mexico," said Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic. "This agreement represents a significant commitment by Virgin Galactic to be the anchor tenant at Spaceport America, and to help New Mexico grow a thriving new industry around commercial space companies."

Find out more...

At the beginning of April the Spaceport Referendum was passed in Doña Ana County. This vote means that the final design and engineering for Spaceport America will accelerate.

Rick Homans commented "We can now say that Spaceport America is ready for blast off - all systems are go. New Mexico is prepared to launch a whole new era of discovery, exploration and commercial activity in space, on the moon and beyond. We have nothing but beautiful black sky ahead of us."

Virgin Galatic team members visit the Spaceport America site

Virgin Galatic team members visit the Spaceport America site

Virgin Galactic are working with NMSA on the specification for the Spaceport, and we are putting together our astronaut experience and operational plans. The Virgin Galactic team have visited the site again to make sure we understand the environmental issues.

SPACEPORT SWEDEN INAUGURATION!

Press conference Kiruna in front of mockup of SS2

Stephen Attenborough, Virgin Galactic's commercial director, introduces Virgin Galatic's first swedish customer Mr Bengt Söderqvist

In January, the official inauguration of Spaceport Sweden took place at Kiruna Airport on Friday 26th January and was attended by Mrs. Maud Olofsson, Minister for Enterprise Energy and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden. Virgin Galactic held a Press Conference in front of the conceptual interior of SS2 and engaged the attending media and politicians with a series of presentations and DVDs which were followed by a dynamic question and answer session.

An agreement was signed which allows the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) and Virgin Galactic to work together on an initial study on the regulatory and operational requirements for launching the Virgin Galactic Spaceships on suborbital flights from Spaceport Sweden. The goal is to reach an operational agreement whereby Spaceport Sweden would be the first spaceport outside the United States to be used by Virgin Galactic for flight campaigns. Areas of work to be developed include scientific confirmation of the feasibility of operating spaceflights into the Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights) and payload deployment and scientific experiments from Spaceport Sweden.

"Spaceport Sweden is very interesting for us thanks to their expertise in space technology and innovative thinking, as well as the fact that Kiruna can offer unique experiences such as the northern lights and the Ice Hotel during winter and the midnight sun during summer" commented Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic.

Virgin Galactic has already signed their first Swedish customer who will become Sweden's second astronaut, first space tourist and potentially the first Swede flying into space from Swedish ground. Mr Bengt Söderqvist was born in Tvärskog, a small village near Kalmar in southern Sweden, but has lived on the Turks and Caicos Island (southwest of the Bahamas) for many years.

"When I understood that I had the chance to see the Earth from space myself, I took that chance and here I am", stated Mr Söderqvist.

CONCEPTUAL MOCK-UP EXHIBITED IN LONDON'S SCIENCE MUSEUM

Richard Branson and Martin Earwicker, Director of London's Science Museum

The conceptual interior of the mock-up of SpaceShipTwo was exhibited in London's Science Museum over the Half Term School Break in February. Thousands of visitors, families and children had the opportunity to see what the interior of the new spaceship may look like.

Virgin Galactic team members gave various presentations over the two week period and led a daily Q & A for visitors.

There was a huge amount of press, media and broadcast coverage including GMTV, BBC Online, Reuters, the Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Independent, LBC and the Sun to name but a few.

RAISING MONEY FOR CHARITY!

In March, Richard Branson and the Virgin Galactic team participated in the X-Prize's Radical Benefit for Humanity Event which was held at the Google Headquarters, San Francisco, USA. A total of $600,000 was raised for the X-Prize and Virgin Unite, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group, created to drive entrepreneurial approaches to social and environmental issues.

The X-Prize Foundation was the catalyst that led to the successful flights into space by SpaceShipOne in 2004. The new Prize fund will help encourage breakthroughs in education, medicine and the environment.

PROFESSOR STEPHEN HAWKING RADIO INTERVIEW

Professor Stephen Hawking gave an incredible interview on UK radio late last year during which he expressed his long held desire to experience space and his hope that Richard Branson might help him to get there!

Richard responded with a personal offer to work with Stephen and his team and to do everything possible to make the dream come true. Everybody involved recognises that this will not be easy, that it will take a lot of detailed work and planning and that Stephen's safety and well-being must always take absolute priority. We are just at the start of that process and have had an initial exploratory meeting with Professor Hawking and his medical team.

Richard and the whole team at Virgin Galactic cannot think of anyone more deserving or better qualified to take a trip to space and will work to try and make it happen.

Professor Hawking wants to encourage public interest in spaceflight, which he believes is critical to the future of humanity. "I also want to show," he said in a recent interview, "that people need not be limited by physical handicaps as long as they are not disabled in spirit." We at Virgin Galactic could not agree more!

FOUNDERS' MEDICAL PROGRAMME TAKES SHAPE

Virgin Galactic has kicked off the Founders' medical programme! Our Founders are receiving and completing medical questionnaires that will help our medical team define Virgin Galactic's medical and training programmes for the future. We are also extremely busy planning for their first taste of G-Force and sub-orbital spaceflight training later this year. Watch out for more news soon!

VIRGIN BOOKS PUBLISHED 'DESTINATION SPACE'!

Read all about the amazing Galactic story in Virgin Books' new publication 'Destination Space', which features Virgin Galactic.

Award winning writer Kenny Kemp, goes in search of the story behind the first commercial space flight, discovering the major players in the race and the science, business and politics behind this incredible breakthrough. At the centre of the story are the paying passenger astronauts who have demonstrated their passion and commitment to the project.

The book sells in the UK for £12.99 but Virgin Books has the book on offer right now through Amazon for £7.79. If you'd like to share our experiences since Sir Richard Branson launched Virgin Galactic in September 2004, order your copy today!

Unfortunately the book is only released in the US on 29th May but it's available for pre-order at US$11.66 reduced from $14.95. Details on when this publication can be purchased in other countries will follow shortly.

FUTURE EVENTS

Arabian Travel Market, Dubai, May 1 - 4th, 2007
Sharaf Travel is going to be exhibiting at the Arabian Travel Market in May in Dubai. Virgin Galactic will be supporting Sharaf Travel and are looking forward to exhibiting the mock-up of the spaceship. After the ATM, the mock-up will be moved to the World Trade Centre shopping mall for a two week period.

'TEMPTATION OF SPACE' Space Exhibition, Paris, May - August 2007
Virgin Galactic and Philippe Starck will be exhibiting in the Louis Vuitton 'Temptation of Space' Exhibition which is to be held in Paris between May - August 2007.

Philippe Starck is working very closely with Virgin Galactic and Louis Vuitton as artistic director giving creative and design input into the project as it develops. The exhibit will certainly prove to be an amazing demonstration of the Galactic experience!

EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, July 23 - 27th 2007
Will Whitehorn, President and Alex Tai, Chief Operating Officer, hope to attend EAA 2007, one of the worlds largest air shows and plan to give several presentations.

We will make sure that we keep you updated of all upcoming activities and future events.

Let the Journey Begin.........